Sunday’s Premier League action rounds off at Stamford Bridge with a mouth-watering, heavyweight clash between Chelsea and Manchester United. Not many European sides are superior to the London high-flyers at the moment, and there’s a feeling the underperforming Reds Devils are not amongst them.
Keen to consolidate their position at the top of the Premier League standings, Chelsea head into proceedings on the back of a crushing 4-0 triumph over Juventus in midweek Champions League action. Thomas Tuchel’s side utterly outclassed the record-time Serie A champions to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions ten matches (W8, D2 – 90 mins only).
Meanwhile, caretaker manager Michael Carrick navigated Man United to an all-important 2-0 Champions League victory at Villarreal in midweek. While waiting for impending manager Ralf Rangnick to take care of interim charge of the team, it will be up to Carrick to lift the Red Devils away from a mid-table lethargy.
Chelsea vs Manchester United Head-to-Head
While the recent form massively favors Chelsea, Manchester United have the upper hand here, based on their recent H2H fortunes. The Red Devils are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League meetings with the London heavyweights (W3, D4).
United’s contemporary defensive woes are a stark contrast to their rock-solid showings at the back in their recent matches against Chelsea. The Old Trafford powerhouse have kept the Blues at bay in their last four top-flight match-ups (W2, L2), including a brace of uneventful scoreless draws back in the 2020/21 season.
Bringing other competitions into the equation, Man United have outplayed Chelsea in three of their last four encounters at Stamford Bridge (D1), as many victories as they had in their previous 25 showdowns at this venue beforehand.
Chelsea Form Preview
It’s been one hell of a season for Chelsea so far, as they boast an intimidating 91.67% unbeaten ratio in the Premier League ahead of the kick-off (W9, D2, L1). Since a heartbreaking 1-0 home loss to Manchester City in late September, the Blues have racked up five wins in their last six league matches (D1), registering four clean sheets in that period.
An impregnable defensive unit has been Chelsea’s landmark under Tuchel, with the reigning Champions League holders conceding a league-low four goals this Premier League season. Perhaps surprisingly, three of those goals have come at Stamford Bridge, particularly in the second half of play. But they’ve also been nothing short of outstanding at the other end of the pitch.
A notable improvement on Chelsea’s 19 Premier League fixtures under Tuchel last season concerns their attacking output. They have scored an average of 2.5 goals per league match this season, which is a significant turnaround from their measly average of 1.31 per game back in the 2020/21 campaign. Only Liverpool (9) have netted more first-half goals in home Premier League matches than Chelsea (8) so far this season.
That should issue a warning to Man United’s sloppy backline.
Manchester United Form Preview
A hard-fought 2-0 triumph over Villarreal in midweek could be just what Manchester United needed to get their stop-start Premier League season up and running. A 4-1 battering at Watford last time out prompted the Theatre of Dreams powerbrokers to relieve the now ex-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of his duties and reach out to Rangnick to fill the void.
But with the German strategist set to arrive in Manchester only next week, it will be up to Carrick to snap Man United’s two-game losing run in the Premier League. The Red Devils have suffered five defeats across their last seven league matches (D1, L1), as many reverses as they had in their previous 42 in the competition.
A drowning man will clutch at a straw, and Man United’s impressive 11-game unbeaten Premier League streak in London (W7, D4) could be what the doctor ordered. After winning their last three top-flight games away to the capital-based sides, the three-time European champions will be looking to make it four victories in a row for the first time since November 2005.
Chelsea vs Manchester United Predicted Lineups
Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Edouard Mendy; Andreas Christiansen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Marcos Alonso; Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi; Kai Havertz.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Alex Telles; Scott McTominay, Fred; Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho; Cristiano Ronaldo.